


Another Ben's Exile

by Jackkel Dragon (jackkel_dragon)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Ending, Gen, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23109478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackkel_dragon/pseuds/Jackkel%20Dragon
Summary: An alternate ending to the character arc of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in The Rise of Skywalker. These scenes slot in between other scenes during the finale of the movie.
Kudos: 1





	Another Ben's Exile

**[Setup: After Ben revives Rey, he lays her down and leaves in the TIE fighter he arrived with. She wakes up without knowing how she "survived" channeling the combined power of all of the Jedi.]**

**[During the celebration among the surviving members of the Resistence.]**

Finn pulled Rey off to the side of the celebration, checking around them to make sure no one was listening too closely. Then he leaned in and whispered to her: "What happened to him? Kylo Ren, I mean."

Rey's smile from being reunited with Finn and Poe faded, and she had to take a moment to think. "He made it to Exegol, somehow. But he stood with me against Palpatine." She glanced at Finn. "I saw him thrown into a pit, but I could still feel him in the Force."

"So you're telling me he's still out there?!" Finn almost shouted, but then lowered his voice as he looked around. "Kylo Ren is still alive?"

Rey shook her head. "I don't think he is." When Finn tilted his head at her, she continued. "Kylo Ren... wasn't the one who came to help me. Ben Solo did. And even he..." She closed her eyes, reaching out with the Force. "...I don't sense him anymore. Not since Palpatine was defeated. Like our bond was... severed, somehow."

Finn bit his lip, shaking his head. "So is he alive or not?"

"I'm... not sure." Rey opened her eyes, a slight smile on her face. "But... I think the person we knew... Supreme Leader Kylo Ren... is gone."

* * *

**[Cut to the falthier cages within Canto Bight.]**

Bargwill Tomder cracked his whip, shouting at his workers to finish faster. The fact that his workers were all children did not dissuade him from punishing them for taking too long to clean up for the day.

One of the children, Temiri, picked up a broom and tossed it to one of his friends. The broom floated over to her, allowing her to catch it in her hand without any trouble. But Bargwill saw this trick and growled in annoyance, cracking his whip again.

"If you have time for magic tricks, you have time for work!" He began to stomp over to Temiri, causing the boy to backpedal by reflex.

"You want to let the boy work how he pleases," came a voice from a figure appearing out of the shadows. The figure was hidden under a dark robe or cloak, but he seemed to be a human.

"I... want to let him work how he pleases." Bargwill repeated in his own language, taking a few steps away from Temiri as if in a daze.

"This is clean enough for tonight," the figure added.

Bargwill cracked his whip. "We're done for tonight! Get to bed, we work early tomorrow!" He huffed and walked inside. After a moment of shocked silence, the children began putting their tools away and heading in to sleep.

All of the children except for one. Temiri saw the robed man start to walk away, but he ran over and tugged on the man's sleeve. "How did you convince him to do that?"

The robed man paused, then turned to look down at Temiri. "It's part of the same power that lets you lift your broom without using your hands."

"I wish I could do things like that too, then." Temiri looked over at the building where he would be sleeping with the other child workers. "Then, maybe life wouldn't be so hard."

The man, whose face was still obscured by his hood, seemed to frown. "It's easy to misuse. To think it's the answer to everything."

Temiri couldn't quite understand what the man meant. While he was forced to grow up fast in Canto Bight, he was still a child in the end. "What do you mean?"

"I'm still figuring it out myself." The man looked away, starting to leave.

"Wait!" Temiri called out. "What's your name?"

There was a hesistation, and Temiri could almost feel something beyond what he could see. There was pain and anger and regret, but also... a glimmer of hope.

The man turned around one last time, and Temiri finally caught a glimpse of his scarred face framed by black hair. His expression was that of a man who had been through much conflict, and had much conflict yet to resolve. "My name is Ben."

**[Cut to Rey landing on Tatooine.]**

**Author's Note:**

> I personally felt that having Ben be "redeemed in death" cheapened his character growth and--by extension--the story it mirrored (Vader's redemption). Not only was Ben's death after saving Rey a poor imitation of Vader's sacrificial redemption, but someone like Ben (who is still young and fit) should have to do more to atone for crimes like mass murder than to save someone he wanted to be with for most of the trilogy. Such an atonement story could be a trilogy of its own, in the right hands. So to try to fit in with the amount of running time that the movie has, I tried to come up with some short scenes that suggest that Ben could be starting to move away from his life as Kylo Ren in a way that doesn't forget the evil he did under that persona. Hopefully it works for some other people as well.
> 
> (Also, I felt like Temiri's story should have at least made a cameo in the movie, since he was the symbol of hope for the future generations at the end of The Last Jedi. That's why this story has Ben go to Cantonica, rather than someplace more remote.)


End file.
